Mission type: SP or MP COOP up to 20 players.Objetive: Flee from Sahrani.Mission behaviour: Attack, retreat, sneak, defend.Languages: Spanish and English.Map: Sahrani.Time: dawn and dusk.Weather: First random, at the end cloudy/foggy.Side: BLUFOR.Play time: 2 ~ 3 hours depending on the way you decide to flee from Sahrani.Addons required: None.

SP options: - Unlimited but not continuous saves via radio, you need to wait few mins between a save and another. - Two dificulty levels which affect enemy skill, delays between saves and player's group and ammo boxes weaponry. - Regroup action to pack the units in the group after some of them die. - Intro available only in SP mode.

MP options: - 3, 5, 7 or 10 deaths allowed per player, once exceeded by any player the game is lost. - Two dificulty levels which affect the number and quality of weapons and ammo available for the players as well as enemy skill level. - Respawn with current equipment near death position for players, playable AI is lost when dead. - JIP allowed. - Regroup action for group leader to pack the units in the group after some of them die. - Mark position action available for any player, its position and name will blink on the map for several seconds. - Leave leadership action, the leader allows other players to take control of the group. - Make me leader action available for players, if leader is not a player, or leader allowed change of leadership, this action will give you control of the group.

Introduction:You are the last survivors of the Mataredo battle. With your long range radio equipment destroyed your HQ might pretty well think all of you are dead or captives. You must find a way to contact your HQ and leave Sahrani.So far your best option is to reach Antigua Island and wait there for rescue choppers, but first of all you must use a long range transmitter, and the only one nearby is inside an armor base.

Changes in v1.06- Fixed an issue with JIP players spawning at sea.- Added "leave leadership" action, so a player may allow other players to take control of the group.- Added a check for JIP players, so if a player has been playing before when he joins again he gets back his last number of deaths left.- Added more checks to ensure that when a player dies over water, he will not respawn over water.- Added more details to notes section describing the different actions available.

Changes in v1.04- Fixed an issue with dedi-servers where the server might keep waiting forever for completion of first objetive.- "Make me leader" action added for players. In case the leader leaves the game, another player may request to be the group leader.

Changes in v1.031- Slight changes so some units keep all the time in their assigned positions without moving (for some reason they were moving in 109)- Enemy specas airborne assault at Trinidad will happen a bit earlier.- Added two more MH6 to weapon dealers Sahrani base.

Changes in v1.03- Mission slightly changed to be fully compatible with ArmA 1.09.- More weapon dealers info and locations provided by the friendly hunter.- Weapon dealers now have high quality weapons and ammo even in hard dificulty mode.- Weapon dealers has a field hospital near Las Navas.- Added fortifications at Base Trinidad as well as ladders so you can now access several roofs.- Main bunker added North of town at Trinidad, this bunker has also a surveillance camera system and bunker gates control system.- Arcangel now is placed into the main bunker.- If Arcangel dies, you will not receive any more radioed status info about Trinidad defenses and enemy attacks directions.- Enemy now hitches UAZ-MGs to Base Trinidad.- Better enemy attack synchronization at Trinidad.- Second airbone assault just in the middle of Base Trinidad.- Base Santa Barbara will help with reinforcements if Base Trinidad defence level goes too low and only if Arcangel asks for them.- Killyourself action added to all units, you may order anyone to commit suicide. You will find it handly if some AI gets stuck somewhere.- Mark Position action available to all units now, including AI. - JIP players now spawns near group leader and with the correct armament.

Changes in v1.02- Two dificulty levels in SP: Normal and Hard which affect initial group weapons set, enemy skill level and content of ammo boxes all aroud the mission area.- Unlimited saves in SP with a delay depending on dificulty level selected.- Buses to Las Navas now annouce the delay until departure when you board them.- Added more enemy patrols near base Pesadas.- Enemy armored column is set to full speed at some points, their reaction might be quite fast now (delay still random inside a range).- Choppers in Specas bases are now capured UH60s.- Damaged BMPs at Pesadas base are now captured Strykers TOW and Humvee TOW.- Some choppers engines might fail randomly in-flight, the faillures are not catastrophic and the engines might recover full power in few seconds, but I would think twice before flying low and slow with them ... - Added more weapon dealers activity around Las Navas area. And remember, they are not friendly.- Adjusted evacuation group landings so now these AI tardish pilots should land always.- Enemy groups attacking base Trinidad now eject as soon as their choppers are over land, expect a fast siege of the BLUFOR base there.- HQ will radio from which directions enemy is breaking into base Trinidad town.- Fixed a way to "hack" the long range radio transceptor without entering the correct code.- Added a small and red close button to the radio transceptor.- Intro in SP extended a bit.- Intro low flying Kamovs should not crash with the valley entrance anymore.

Changes in v1.01- Unlimited saves in SP with a 3 mins minimum delay.- Overview pic adjusted.- Added callsigns to evac and player's group (evac and patriarca).- Changed initial position marker description.- The tanks might react a bit earlier at the beginning, while their reaction time from pesadas is random between a range.- Adjusted a bit the landing position of enemy specas reinforcements.- Added more weapon dealers activity.

1) I wud have liked it more if uve put in a small weapon selection (da couple of M4s u got dere) instead of starting us near an ammo box2) If da ural at da start is suposed 2 b used by players 2 transport it wud never fit da 20 ppl in SP... actualy i think u may wanna limit da number of AIs on SP mode as right now its enough 2 get close 2 da base and da AIs just wipe most of da enemies really fast (we got somin like 6 snipers or more...) so i didnt get a chance 2 fight alot...3) also notice dat if da player captures an enemy vehicle (my case an UAZ w/ MG) da enemies wont shot on it...4) da rienforcments MI-17 dat gets 2 da specas base lands realy bad... it actualy crashed 1st time i tried....5) da tanks r slow... it cud give da player a beter sense of chase if dey were lil bit faster6) da regroup action doesnt get removed after its used even if all da units r orgnized again...

dats all 4 now... ill give some mroe laterz

LCD OUT

Logged

"guess being the community has downsides .." - cheetahHelp Perfecting Da Next Best Thing - O-Team Beta

Intro:The intro starts with titleText["Mataredo, North of Sahrani", "BLACK FADED"];

Mission:2) The number of ammo boxes and trucks at start point is random (as many other things in the game), and there is a reason for that. You may force the movement of the tanks from outside the base, as soon as the defenders feel seized that will put the tanks in movement. Here you may decide not to go for the choppers, just ride the original trucks and take the long way to the west. south and then east to reach Pesadas without flying. But if the number of trucks is 0 or 1 you'll need to get inside base perimeter and steal a chopper or more trucks. Note that you dont really need to use any chopper, you can reach Antigua even by boat.

3) This is how ArmA works, and works fine in this case. Is not that the enemy will not shot on you, the enemy will take longer to notice you are the enemy.

4) Yep, it sometimes fails to land on the spot (which is good for you), mainly if you fire at it few rounds on it. 5) That happens later, at the initial assault you may need some time to rearm and heal your men.6) Yes of course, and?

Intro:1) I like that it was fast paced and action packed right away. Maybe too many bodies, seems like these troops were clustered a little close together and i think its still a grim feeling with a little less carnage. But that's my opinion.

2) The two Hind helicopters in the intro crashed just before the mountain pass.

Game:

1) I really like the idea of a delay between saves-- i'm going to use that going forward. Is a great way to keep up the tension but still allow the player to avoid the frustration of having to restart too far back.

2) I agree with LCD, group weapons loadout could be different

3) Can there be more info or at least speculation on enemy strength? If only 20 survived, it must be overwhelming but some comments there would be helpful, even if the comment is "We have no idea of enemy strength at the base, but its our only shot." etc

Ok have to get back to work for a bit but i wanted to give you some quick thoughts and say i'm going to enjoy playing this next couple days

new comments 12-22-07:

Ok, I decided to really take my time and enjoy this mission and scout things out carefully. I also figured since I was playing in SP mode that it might be harder alone. After leaving my squad in the woods near the start, I scouted out the Pesadas armor base instead of first attacking the Especas base. With the M107 (nasty kick when you are not lying down!) I sniped away at the tower guards and the D-30 troops. I played "shoot 'n scoot" for a while (I did get killed by the machine gunner jeep on GUARD duty once) and then brought my troops up. I noticed some of the armor left Pesadas base for the northern Especas base, though i had not attacked it yet. I also noticed an arrow for Bus service nearby Pesadas base. I ran back to the Especas base in time to see the armor arrive (i didnt get back in time to set off some clever satchel charges i had placed on the road). So then i went back to Pesadas. After killing maybe a dozen troops at Pesadas and avoiding the tanks, I took my squad into town for the Bus Service (i passed by the Hunter standing there quietly as well, maybe a voiceover comment from him if you get close?). The buses automatically drove me to Las Navas where I got out. Perhaps the buses are not so automatic? Why would they take me there right away etc? A cutscene conversation? Then I realized I still hadn't gotten into the Long Range radio tower and contacted friendly evacuation forces. Ooops, I leave my troops near Las Navas and head back to Pesadas where I have to turn off ArmA, write this and head out of town for Christmas.

suggestions:

-- probably not enough troops at Pesadas base on "GUARD" duty to hunt down snipers like myself in the forested hills

-- bus movement came about automatically without any forewarning

-- who are these weapons dealers? more background por favor. Why did one of them shoot at me near the beach at Las Navas?

-- perhaps armor should not leave Pesadas for Especas base when its only Pesadas under attack?

-- how did the 20 American troops and myself end up here in good shape after the failed assault? perhaps too many troops in my squad?

hehe, nope, currently you are playing in easy mode. I added the existing MP hard mode to the SP mission in the 1.02 version which I will post here today or tomorrow (in SP you will be able to select hard or normal mode).

Aside of that, the tanks left pesadas because Specas base was seized, if you dont seize North base the tanks will remain at Pesadas all the time.

BTW, the weapon dealers are whatever but friendly, they will shot at you as soon as you get into their controlled areas. The good point is that if you gain control of Las Navas you will get some nice western weapons, choppers and ships as reward.

Betatest #2 of version 1.02 Normal Difficulty (using ArmA 1.08, i knew 1.09 beta would be a mess! ):

Intro- good improvement with the troops swimming to the shore at the end, makes the story better

Mission-

This time I tried to proceed in a more traditional fashion. I moved my squad up to a hill SE of the Specas base and started sniping away with my troops helping me. I ran out of M107 ammo fairly quickly but my squad and I cleaned out most of the base, but we missed rocketing the MI-17 reinforcements!!! They managed to get out and counterattack but we decimated them. At this point after about 15-20 minutes of firefight the Hunter warned of the Pesadas tanks approaching. I told my squad to hide in the woods (we did not descend to the base yet) and then I planted my satchel charges on the road and hid in the bushes. I managed to blow up one tank but the Shilka and the other tank survived.

After sneaking away from the menacing tanks, I drove in the start truck towards Pesadas and narrowly dodged a hit from the D-30! (thought i was still far away). Ejected from the truck and ran to the woods with bullets all around me. Very exciting. I really like the 3 minute saves-- perfect because they don't allow the player to cheaply kill and save, kill and save. Frankly Bohemia should have made the stock version savegame feature this way. So i am probably 1/3 to halfway through the mission, will post more later...Suggestions:-I think the briefing can be more concise. The objectives spill over to the second page. It is possible to write very short sentences and still convey the mission goals and needs. If you can fit it all on one page or have note links that would be good. -More voiceovers for final version I hope as well, tehy really add to the mission. Music kicked in at the Pesadas tank gathering which is nice, more of that would be good. Sound candy always increases a mission's enjoyment.

Otherwise this is a really exciting mission. The difficulty level (at Normal) is challenging but not daunting to the point where the player wants to throw his hands up and try again later. That is important. I have to think through my every move but am confident I can still win. I recommend other folks on Ofpec check it out, you know Mandoble's work on resources and scripting is impressive and this mission reflects that.

Hi, here are my experiences with the mission, please note that I tried it in SP mode.

Ovierview

A decent, well-fitting picture, great job.

Intro

The intro is quite good, showing all the carnage that has preceded the mission. Nothing to complain about.

Briefing

The briefing is very extensive, I liked it, but there was also much to read. I guess that`s necessary due to the lengthy and complicated character of the mission.

Mission

The mission started quite some distance from the specas camp, after I picked the easy mode. I had a M107 sniper rifle, a weapon I am not so familiar with, but I had no choice. It was quite difficult to remain situationally aware because the recoil kicked the rifle into the air when not in a prone position. Anyway, I carefully took care of the soldiers in the camp, but lost almost half my squad because the wire fence channeled their movement and the enemies were dangerous and well placed. I think I even saw them emerge from a barracks building! The tanks arrived just in time to make me run for the helo and lift off, flanking them. Two of my men did not fit in and stayed back in the specas base.

I cautiously approached Pesadas base with the helo,staying low in the valley and landing in the valley to avoid being spotted and shot down my MG nests. On foot, I walked up to the base on the south side, killed a guard in the tower and then some enemies close to squad-size ambushed me from behind, while others came right across the corner. I managed to survive but lost all my squadmates. Then I was glad to get to the radio transmitter after this ordeal and frustratingly I had to find the code from an officer.

I had no idea where to find the guy and even if I was meant to look for the "general" or just a troop leader. Just as I was running around things got hot with a squad of infantry coming from the higher ground in the north, and I had a hard time fighting them off. Just as I had done that, the tanks were in the base and finished me off. Could not complete the mission...

Conclusion

The point with the radio transmitter is overdone in SP I think. If I just had to transmit the message and hastily retreat to my helo, it would have been ok. But infantry and tanks in rapid succession and no officer to be seen is just too much.

You have an important hint, the officer should be inside a building, and there are only two enterable barraks near the radio tower.

Pesadas is not so hard if you defend yourself well when inside. If you aproach from the South (the South yellow marker), you will find some ruins, and from there and the M107 or Ak74 Sniper you can easily kill most of the defenders. But once inside, and knowing that the tanks will return, do not let the base entrances undefended. Leave a man in the S entrance MG nest and another in the D30 gun at the E entrance at the road side. Recover the strykers TOW and the humvee TOWs and ambush the tanks, you will have time for the radio and the radio code later. Ah, and dont expect to find your chopper or choppers in good condition with Kamovs looking for them (weapon dealtes have choppers).

Optionally you may recover the code and transmit the message ASAP and then leave pesadas at full speed heading towards Caladeros (weapon dealers hideout), engange and kill the dealers and ambush the tanks there (if you dont destroy them at Pesadas, they'll pursue you to Caladeros).

In normal circumstances (using the hill South of Specas base to kill them all from safe distance) and moving fast there to capture the two UH60s, you should reach Pesadas with most if not all of your men in two choppers. Between Pesadas, Caladeros and Antigua, expect to lose half of your men or even more. But reaching Trinidad alone might be a real problem.

Consider that after transmitting the code at Pesadas, you are about 1/3 in the mssion, and still far far away of the big battle at Trinidad.